Introduction to February Newsletter

As February comes to an end here at Greenrock, we are busy with organising Earth Hour on March 25th, as well as our regular workload. February is also the start of the Budget debate, and we will be carefully reviewing the Budget and resulting debate to see what, if any, sustainability aspects there are in it.

In environmental matters globally, there is an interesting shift going on where discourse appears to be increasingly shifting from the concept of ‘sustainability’ to that of ‘resilience’. While this shift began over a decade ago, with the 2004 UN report ‘Living with Risk’, it has more recently begun to eclipse the concept of sustainability.

While the two terms are often used interchangeably at the moment, conceptually they have two very different meanings. Resilience implies being best able to withstand global climate change and its related crises, whereas sustainability seeks to avoid these crises altogether and ensure a sustainable development for humanity and our planet, rather than a ‘survival of the fittest’ social and economic Darwinism.

This leads to an interesting question for those of us committed to a more sustainable world – and in particular a more sustainable Bermuda. Do we want sustainability or do we want resilience – what is it that we should be working for?

Although it is true that we do want a Bermuda that is resilient in the face of climate change and its crises – Greenrock has long been calling for an urgent focus on ‘climate-proofing’ our island’s infrastructure – we do not feel that we should limit ourselves to a resilience only position. Resilience isn’t a solution – it’s a necessary precaution for the short-term. And from our perspective a focus on sustainability is the only viable approach to ensure the resilience of all, including future generations and the biosphere.

Greenrock will continue to work for a sustainable Bermuda - sustainability remains core to Greenrock’s focus and actions.

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